| Weekly News Digest - 29th May 2025 |
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| As the bundling requirement takes effect on 1st June 2025, pharmacy owners must register for the three services—Pharmacy First, Pharmacy Contraception Service, and the Hypertension Case-Finding Service—on the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by 11.59pm on Saturday, 31st May 2025. Failure to register by this deadline means pharmacies will not be eligible for the June monthly payment for Pharmacy First, even if the minimum required Clinical Pathway consultations in June is met. For further details, see the bundling FAQs. |
| Stay informed with the Pharmacy Academy podcast channel! Receive weekly updates on key pharmacy-related topics, crafted using insights from NHS, CPE, and PGD information, then AI-generated for clarity and relevance. Tune in to stay ahead of industry changes and gain valuable insights. Click here to start listening. |
| Frimley ICB have provided an update on the future of ICB's read the letter in full here |
| With the weather pharmacy teams may see more patients with tick bites and possible Lyme disease symptoms. Although tick bites and Lyme disease are not treatable under the Pharmacy First clinical pathway for infected insect bites, patients should be signposted for further medical attention. Click here. |
| Pharmacists looking to expand their expertise can now apply for NHS England-funded independent prescribing courses. This initiative supports professionals, including community pharmacy, locums, and primary care—to gain prescribing qualifications. With courses available until March 2026, multiple universities are offering cohort intakes on different dates. Successful applicants will receive fully funded tuition, provided they meet the eligibility criteria. Click here. |
| Download the latest edition of the Healthwatch Oxfordshire briefing. |
| Pharmacy owners and their representatives are invited to attend our regional ‘Future of Pharmacy’ workshops to discuss what next for community pharmacy with CPE. The workshops will be held through July, with one in each NHS region. See here for more information and dates. |
Stay ahead of the 2025/26 PQS deadlines with the PQS Deadline Tracker—a useful tool for staying organised and on schedule. It will help you track important milestones, ensuring you meet deadlines without the stress.
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| Pharmacy owners should be aware that in 2025/26, the Pharmacy First caps will be updated monthly. Pharmacy owners can refer to the lists published monthly by NHSBSA to see their band placements and caps. For more information and FAQs click here. |
| From 1st June, pharmacies must be registered and capable of delivering the Hypertension Case Finding Service, Pharmacy Contraception Service (PCS), and Pharmacy First service, alongside the required minimum number of clinical pathway consultations. Click here. |
| Declarations must be submitted via the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal, and prescription bundles must be dispatched to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) by the 5th of the following month (or by the 6th if a bank holiday falls within the first five days). Late submissions result in delayed advance payments, following the standard timetable, and may incur a £25 administrative charge for delayed prescription bundles. See here for more information. |
Stay on top of your schedule with ease using our Monthly Deadline Tracker. This May edition is designed to keep you organized and help you meet your deadlines effortlessly.
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| Commissioned by NHS England and supported by the Greener NHS programme, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's digital toolkit helps pharmacy teams reduce the environmental impact of pharmaceutical care while supporting patients. Register for the webinar on 29 May 2025 to learn more. |
| Join Claire Holland, a community pharmacist from Buckinghamshire, for an informative webinar on the clinical aspects of the Pharmacy Contraception Service. This session, running from 7:30pm to 8:30pm, is the first in a series of planned webinars for local contractors in Thames Valley. Don't miss this opportunity to gain valuable insights and enhance your understanding of the service. No need to register join on the evening using this link. |
| The launch of the Community Pharmacy Technician Apprenticeship Programme 2025 is designed to support Pre-registration Trainee Pharmacy Technicians (PTPTs) as they complete their 24-month apprenticeship within a community pharmacy setting. This initiative provides a funding contribution of £15,053 per trainee, per year for two years. Applications for funding are open until Sunday 15 June 2025 via an online expression of interest form. See here for more information. |
CPPE Workshops July – September 2025CPPE have released their latest courses for July to September, with new courses including Depression: having meaningful conversations, Blood pressure monitoring in community pharmacy- essential skills and much more. See here for full list of workshops. |
| The LPC subscribes to the Virtual Outcomes training platform, granting our pharmacies access to an array of online training resources. To get started, simply enter your ODS Code using the link below. |
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